Disney Wiki
Advertisement
Disney Wiki

Franklyn Marks was an American composer, arranger, and orchestrator, who worked on several Disney features, both animated and live-action, as well as television films, such as Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar and The Boy Who Talked to Badgers.

Marks was born in Cleveland, Ohio and his parents provided piano lessons and so rapid was his progress that, by 1927, he was performing on WHK radio with his high school jazz ensemble the Harmony Knights. Upon graduating from Glenville High School, he was awarded a scholarship to attend Dartmouth College, where he majored in music. He toured as pianist with the Barbary Coast Orchestra, Dartmouth's acclaimed dance band, and maintained such high academic standing that he earned membership in Phi Beta Kappa as well as a senior fellowship. Graduating in 1932, Marks became a pianist for the Merle Jacobs Orchestra and an arranger/musician for Irving Aaronson and his band which recorded Marks' arrangement of "Love in Bloom" with Bing Crosby.

Now living in New York as a staff arranger at NBC Radio, Marks was working with many artists, including Red Nichols, Dinah Shore, Eddie Cantor, and studied under Joseph Schillinger and taught his method of composition to fellow musicians. From 1944 to 1946, he served in the U.S. Army with the 97th Armed Ground Forces Band. Settling in Los Angeles with his family and began writing original compositions for symphonies, arranging and composing scores for film and television, and taught at the California Academy of Music.

Beginning his career with Disney in 1955, Marks, under Paul Smith's tutelage, learned the specialized techniques used to create scores for animated cartoons and live action films. He contributed to Mickey Mouse Club and the Disneyland anthology series before orchestrating music for films, such as Third Man on the Mountain, Sleeping Beauty, The Sword in the Stone, Babes in Toyland, and The Parent Trap.

Marks died on July 12, 1976 following a long struggle with cancer.

Filmography[]

Year Film Position
1955, 1958 Mickey Mouse Club Orchestrator
Songs
19561974 The Magical World of Disney Orchestrator
Composer
1956 How to Have an Accident in the Home Composer
1956 The Great Locomotive Chase Orchestrator
1956 Secrets of Life Orchestrator
1957 Johnny Tremain Orchestrator
1957 Perri Orchestrator
1958 The Sign of Zorro Orchestrator
1958 The Light in the Forest Orchestrator
1959 Third Man on the Mountain Songwriter: "Climb the Mountain"
1959 Sleeping Beauty Orchestrator (uncredited)
1959 Kodak Presents Disneyland '59 Composer
1960 The Hound That Thought He Was a Raccoon Orchestrator
Composer
1960 Pollyanna Orchestrator
1961 One Hundred and One Dalmatians Orchestrator
1961 The Parent Trap Orchestrator
1961 Babes in Toyland Orchestrator
1961 The Absent-Minded Professor Orchestrator
1962 Bon Voyage! Orchestrator
Composer: dance music
1963 Miracle of the White Stallions Orchestrator
1963 The Sword in the Stone Orchestrator
1964 For the Love of Willadean Composer
1965 Those Calloways Additional conductor (uncredited)
1965 That Darn Cat! Orchestrator
1966 The Ugly Dachshund Orchestrator
1966 The Boston Tea Party Orchestrator
1967 Scrooge McDuck and Money Composer
Conductor
1967 The Legend of the Boy and the Eagle Composer
1967 Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar Composer
Songwriter: "Talkin' About Charlie"
1970 King of the Grizzlies Orchestrator
1970 The Boatniks Orchestrator
1970 The Wild Country Orchestrator
1971 The Barefoot Executive Orchestrator
1972 Justin Morgan Had a Horse Composer
1972 Snowball Express Orchestrator
1973 The World's Greatest Athlete Orchestrator (uncredited)
1974 The Castaway Cowboy Orchestrator
1974 Hog Wild Composer
1975 The Boy Who Talked to Badgers Composer

External links[]

Advertisement